Will Illini successfully handle big-game pressure?

Sunday

Dec 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 30, 2007 at 10:41 PM

The atmosphere at the Rose Bowl is like no other college football game. The palm trees stand guard over the scenic bowled stadium. When the sun sets behind the San Gabriel Mountains and the stars come out, it's a setting they can't improve in a Hollywood movie lot just a few miles from here.

John Supinie

The atmosphere at the Rose Bowl is like no other college football game.

The palm trees stand guard over the scenic bowled stadium. When the sun sets behind the San Gabriel Mountains and the stars come out, it's a setting they can't improve in a Hollywood movie lot just a few miles from here.

"You're waiting for Spielberg to say, 'Action!' '' said ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who will serve on the ABC broadcasting crew when No. 13 Illinois meets No. 6 USC in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.

Herbstreit, like just about everyone else, wonders how a young Illini team with no bowl experience will handle the Granddaddy of Them All. Just as important as the game between the line is the one played between the ears.

"When you're a player and won two games last year, you're just trying to get to .500,'' Herbstreit said. "Then Illinois had such a breakthrough season, including that win over top-ranked Ohio State on the road.

"I don't think we can pull out a book that says, 'How will Illinois respond as an underdog against USC?' I don't think we know who Illinois is yet. They're a dangerously confident and young, naive team that's capable of going out and having success and surprising some people.''

While Herbstreit said USC was confident and loose in his visit to the Trojans' practice Saturday, he will first watch for Illinois' reaction during pregame warmups and the game's first few plays.

"I have a sneaky feeling that if Illinois can start fast, the Illini can be competitive in this game,'' Herbstreit said.

Of course, Illinois must show an ability to pass the ball against the Trojans, Herbstreit said. USC's challenge is for a defense to keep its speed against Illinois' spread option attack that often makes its opponents read and react.

Yet for Herbstreit, this game is about how Illinois handles the big-game pressure in their first bowl trip in six seasons. Illinois hasn't played in the Rose Bowl since 1984. The Illini are 14-point underdogs, the largest point spread in bowl season.

Meanwhile, USC makes its fourth Rose Bowl appearance in the last five years. The Trojans play in a BCS bowl game for the sixth straight season. Without discounting the X's and O's of the game, it could still come down to attitude, Herbstreit said.

"Now that they're healthy, now that USC put it together, I think they feel that they're going to put on a game to show America that this is the team that should have been on display for 12 games,'' Herbstreit said. "They're anxious to show America that they're the best team in the country now that they're healthy.

"If I'm Illinois, nobody respects us or thinks we can compete in this game. This is our chance to show America that we play good football. Time will tell.''

The former Ohio State quarterback knows the importance of the win over the Buckeyes for Illinois' confidence.

"They went to Columbus and beat Ohio State,'' Herbstreit said. "That has to be the rallying cry if I'm Ron Zook. If you go back and think about that game, who in the world would think they could do that and the way they did that. I would use that as the rallying call.

"I look at bowl games and think teams that show up without having any change at all typically plays well. The team that's told how wonderful they are sometimes has more of a mental obstacle to overcome.''

So Zook and USC coach Pete Carroll each have work to do before game time, when everyone in the Rose Bowl and the national TV audience gets their first questions answered.

But there's still execution on the field.

"If Illinois can't throw the football, all this discussion is for naught,'' he said.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com and www.pjstar.com.

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